So one thing that I’ve noticed since Dragonflight was how the campaign storylines from from the X.Y.7 patch helped set the way into the following main content.
The Forbidden Reach Storyline mentions Aberrus and furthers Sarkareth’s story, who we face in 11.1.
The Fury Incarnate campaign makes it clear that Fyrakk’s desires to claim Amirdrassil, and seeks to enter the Emerald Dream.
The Dark Heart campaign establishes that Xal’atath is planning things for Azeroth and Alleria’s hunt for her that we see in The War Within.
The Lingering Shadows campaign reveals that Gallywix is back in business, which is followed up with Undermine(d).
Now with 11.1.7, we have the Legacy of Arathor campaign, where we see that Marran is once more setting the Arathi Highlands into conflict and has a new army with the Red Dawn. While we do we stop them here, Marran is spared. Granted this could just be a simply manner of establishing Marran and the Red Dawn for further down the road.
To be honest, I largely still think that 11.2 will either be the Rootlands or K’aresh, but looking at the pattern… I can’t help but wonder if the Legacy of Arathor campaign is establishing 11.2 in some manner. Like could Marran and the Red Dawn be our antagonists? Is Marran’s desire to recreate the Arathorian Empire being included in game now because we are going to dealing with an antagonistic Arathi Empire force?
It also be mentioned that the Darkfuse first appeared in the max level campaign for TWW in the penultimate chapter. However it was unknown who their leader was until The Lingering Shadows campaign.
Or it could be related to the new dungeon we are getting in 11.2, which was alluded to being a mega-dungeon during his announcement of Operation: Floodgate for 11.1. Iirc they said we will get a mega-dungeon in TWW but they didn’t do it for 11.1 as it was expected to get one at some point during a X.1 patch cycle. As 3 out of 4 mega dungeons we have gotten have been from X.1.Y patches.
Return to Karazhan was 7.1.0 and was the main focus
Operation Mechagon was 8.2.0
Tazavesh was 9.1.5
Dawn of the Infinite was 10.1.5
I’m trying to find where that was stated but no luck so far. Stupid internet.
EDIT. Found it. https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxPj1kOsvIcth1-JPAr2SM-yzs7LzfrkTs?si=O1_B5uneOXbj8Xq6
According to Ion, he doesn’t confirm if the dungeon in 11.2 will be one but he does say they wanted to mix things up a bit for 11.1. hence operation floodgate.
I don’t think so no. Considering the void thingies starting with 11.2 and them ignoring the Haranir despite called TWW(No going within the core before Last Titan I assume) means they want a clean override into Midnight so the Arathi will no longer matter after that new patch.
You’re right in that 11.1.7 is traditionally a “lead-in” to the next major story. Unless 11.1.7 has some serious twists or surprises, I’m not sure how going to Arathi Highlands will also involve what we saw as the final 11.1 cutscene (Karesh, assumingly) or anything involving the Rootlands, Beledar, the Undersea, or literally anything else in TWW.
So far all of this feels so disjointed…hoping they pleasantly surprise us!
I don’t think they’ll do a second continent this late in the expansion and I feel like unless it’s a world revamp of the areas south of Quel’thalas, it’s what “Arathor” would require (otoh, Arathor having two meanings now means it could also be a world revamp of northern EK maybe minus non-human (yes I include the two branches of cursed humans in there, sue me) lands)
So second stages of Lordaeron and Gilneas resto too? Who knows.
If they do it that way I think this also opens up the possibility that the two other elven capitals get touchups during midnight (playable Suramar and expanded Bel’ameth would be nice), maybe even Hinterlands as it has the Wildhammer and Revantusk capitals. But I wouldn’t really bet money on what 11.2 is going to be based on 11.1.7
Not sure on how accurate that will be. At the very least I know that they will go on the back burner, as other groups have, but I think that they could be involved in Midnight since their Renilash is the War between light and shadow.
I didn’t expect her to survive, but it’s interesting that we’ll have to deal with her and the Red Dawn in the future. Not to mention that the last Regent of Stromgarde also survived and sided with Marran.
Perhaps they’ll be used in Midnight or TLT and show up occasionally. It’s also possible they’ll make a deal with Xal.
But for this expansion, the Arathi are closed for now.
We’ll most likely be traveling to K’aresh, as the end of Undermine revealed.
Not to mention, new Ethereal models, weapons, etc. have been datamined, and it’s pretty clear what’s coming in Patch 11.2!
Perhaps the Arathi Empire will be used in Midnight, and Red Dawn could play a role there. Let’s see if they’re included in the next expansion. I think it’s likely.
Is this really the best Blizzard could come up with in response to the Scarlet Crusade becoming painfully cliche? A copy-paste with the serial numbers filed off? This “red dawn”?
It’s taking a dead horse that’s been pulverized and trying to convince everyone it’s a brand new beautiful mustang car.
I don’t get what using three defunct groups and making them the Red Dawn was supposed to achieve. Who looked at this and thought Awesome, people are going to love this!?
Best guess I can actually field relating to the OP is that we are getting a partial world revamp and it is going to be more thorough than we expected. Thorough as in: everything north of the Thandol Span—all of the Northern Kingdoms plus Quel’Thalas.
Do I think the above is likely? Nope. But if we’re dreaming big and trying to make 11.1.7 elements relevant, that’s the most hopeful spin I can put on it.
For what it matters, it actually felt rather natural with how it’s written in the quest chain for these three groups to work together and blend into a unified whole. There’s even some journals, really hoping they give us copies of them, I missed out on reading one when a mob spawned and the book closed and vanished… regardless the driving forces felt natural to me as presented within the story. In all three cases I believe these are remnants of the organizations who have been lured to the promise of again doing something that matters, at least by their standards.
Part of the issue is the writing has dithered over the fact that the game is showing a significantly scaled down world so that what’s basically a decapitation strike (e.g. the Scarlet Monastery dungeon/raid) ends up being perceived as total elimination.
I feel like in the past when the scarlets still had NPC’s running around the alliance zones the scarlets felt like a larger organization.
For what it matters the Devs do seem to be aware of the issue and IIRC have even mentioned in at least one interview that they don’t feel the size of the zones properly depict the world as it really would be.
The only way I see the Red Dawn being a major threat is if they have lots of agents in Stormwind and work with the house of nobles to stage a coup. Maybe even use the Priory magic to raise an army of mindless light undead to take over Stormwind.
With Joseph the guy who hates Undead gone the Red Dawn will soon follow the path of the Scarlet Crusade Season of Discovery Leadership controlling an Army of Lightbound Undead.
After a little googling, one of the fights is “Reborn Council” and includes Herod, Doan, and Vishas, all with Forsaken/Undead models. So looks like yes.
